Wildwood-The Villages → Raleigh-Cary
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Wildwood-The Villages to Raleigh-Cary is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 85.4 to 98.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $422/mo.
- +$4,917
- BLS median salary higher in Raleigh-Cary
- 210 to 365
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.8:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,018
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Raleigh-Cary
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $5K higher median salary
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - 13% higher cost of living
- - $422/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 85.4 to 98.2, so the same paycheck buys less in Raleigh-Cary (ratio 1.15). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $422/mo ($5,064/yr) from $1,328 in Wildwood-The Villages to $1,750 in Raleigh-Cary.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Raleigh-Cary sits #241 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). Wildwood-The Villages is #52/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,917 higher ($63,776 → $68,693). Labor-market size: 34,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 725,130 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Florida 62 (C, #23/51) vs North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
- Income tax
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Wildwood-The Villages to see what you'd need to earn in Raleigh-Cary to maintain the same purchasing power.
Raleigh-Cary metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026